What The Shadows Hide
by E.I.Lorelai
Summary: All children grow up. All but one. A boy, who in his refusal to grow up, ended up in a magical world that he called Neverland. A boy named Peter Pan. He is the boy hero who saved Wendy Darling, and later her daughter Jane, from the dangerous pirate Captain Hook; but what if that's only half the story, a story that was never told completely? Full summary inside.


Full summary:

All children grow up. All but one. A boy, who in his refusal to grow up, ended up in a magical world that he called Neverland. A boy named Peter Pan. He is the boy hero who saved Wendy Darling, and later her daughter Jane, from the dangerous pirate Captain Hook; but what if that's only half the story, a story that was never told completely? No one seems to know how this boy came upon this magical island, or why he refuses to grow up. Furthermore, no one seems to know what happened to him after his adventures with Wendy, and later, Jane. Did he simply return to Neverland alone? Or did he find new children to bring to Neverland? Peter Pan is a boy surrounded by obscurity that no one questioned until now.

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Mali walked the streets of London with her hands in her pocket, as it was a chilly afternoon. The wind was strong, billowing her long dark hair and making her wrap her grey coat tighter around herself. Her mind was overtaken with thoughts of her busy schedule for the following day, and she shook her head and sighed, letting out a chilly breath which fogged before her eyes. She walked faster as the sun receded into the horizon, it wasn't safe to be out at night, especially with all the reports of kidnapped children.

It started about two weeks back, it might have been longer, but she couldn't remember. The first boy was taken at the beginning of the week in the streets, but the next kid was taken the next day from school, and another from his home. So far five children had been kidnapped, all boys, but that didn't mean that girls were safe. She heard that one of the boys was epileptic, and that he was most likely dead, and another was autistic. Mali truly felt sad, for the families, but she shook her head in dismay towards the beastly person who would do such a thing. The kidnapper had apparently been seen near these neighborhoods, and it made her bristle in dread.

As she passed an alley she heard some scuffling, and then a voice she knew well taunting, "Whatcha crying for, freak?"

It was against her better judgment, but she went inside the alley and approached the voice and said, "Allan Richardson, I should've guessed." she could see a boy under him, his face sported some nasty cuts that without a doubt came from Allan. Allan was her tormentor when they were younger, and he loved picking on defenseless children weaker than him.

"Mynx? Get out of here, can't you see I'm trying to teach the punk a lesson?" he said, then added with a smirk, "Unless you want to wait in line, and get that pretty face hurt, I suggest you leave."

She hated when people referred to her by her last name, and Allan, being the neighborhood bully, loved to push her buttons. "Funny, I was going to suggest the same thing. Now let the boy go or else." her tone was serious, no trace of humor or fear in it, and her green eyes serious and sharp. Perhaps a year ago she would have heeded his word and ran home in fear, but a lot had happened since she last confronted Allan.

"Ha! You, do something to me? Please, tell me that's a joke. The worst you've ever done is run to my mum and snitch on me!" his figure was shaking from his laughter; however she didn't share his laughter and instead took off her white gloves and placed them in her pockets, and proceeded to take off her messenger bag, placing it atop of some dirty crates.

She grabbed the hood of his jacket and pulled him off the boy, throwing him back against the wall of the alley. As he stood up and charged towards her, he kicked his right foot out and she caught it with ease, pulling it forward making him slip and landing in the murky puddle near her foot. He growled and aimed a punch at her face, which she caught before it hit her. She twisted Allan's arm and punched him square on the nose. He pulled his arm back and held his nose, which was now bleeding.

"What the hell! You broke my nose! I'm going to tell-" he started with a pained whine.

"Tell who? No one would ever believe you if you tell them that I broke your nose." She interrupted him, "Now get lost unless you really want to get beat up," she smirked in triumph.

He muttered unintelligible curses under his breath before scrambling up and shoving past her. She shook her head before putting on her gloves and taking a look at the boy. He was pressed up against a tin trash can, boldness and audacity glimmering in his bright green eyes. As Mali took a better look at the him, she realized that he wasn't a boy, so much as a young guy, about her own age of 17. She held her hand out for him, he looked at her hand then quickly back at her. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're thinking," she offered him her hand again, and this time he took it. She helped him up as he said, "Are you sure? It seemed safer with that loser." His voice was soft, but it held a note of coarseness as if he were parched.

"I promise I will not harm you, if you are so worried. Look, I'm not sure how you got those cuts on your face, but they need to be treated, I can take you to the hospi-"

"No hospitals," his brows furrowed and he visibly tensed.

"All right no hospitals, but look you need to get those cleaned up, I don't live too far from here, I can at least help you clean them," she said as she grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"How do I know you're not some crazy person trying to kidnap me?" He asked pulling back into the trash can.

She sighed and pulled her gloves on and then proceeded to put her bag over her shoulder, "I suppose you have every right to be skeptical, but I truly mean good. I suggest you visit a clinic or something; you wouldn't want to get those infected. My offer still stands, though." He hesitated before opening his mouth and closing it again, and then he said, "Alright, I suppose you're right. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

She gave him a soft, tight lipped smile and said, "Don't worry about it; it's no trouble at all. I'm glad I can help. I'm Mali by the way; it's nice to meet you-"

"Rufio and the pleasure is all mine," he said outstretching his hand toward her. She shook it and said, "We should get going, it's dangerous to stay out after dark."

They walked side by side on the sidewalk in long strides. They were quiet and quick, walking swiftly trying to reach their destination soon. They seemed more like shadows than people in their quick pace. They came upon a gated house with guards outside. Rufio walked passed the house believing they still had ways to go, but when he didn't feel Mali's presence next to him, he turned and saw that she had stopped.

"Hey Neil, let me in, Mum and Dad will have a fit if I'm not home in a bit," Mali said to one of the guards. As the guard opened the door she tilted her head and motioned for Rufio to follow her. "Oh, and don't mention my friend to Mum, please, he had a bit of an accident and I'd rather not worry her."

They walked in but Rufio's stride had broken and it was hesitant. Mali noticed this, but didn't comment on it. They entered the house, hung her coat and bag in a closet and then she led them up stairs. Their steps echoed through out the vast halls and rooms. They reached a room decorated in soft tones of olive green and she opened the door. "Come on, I have a kit in my room and I can clean, and dress your wounds." she said as she opened the door.

He hesitated to enter and then said in an upset voice, "I don't mean to be an _inconvenience_ to you, I can manage fine, and you don't have to do this."

Mali narrowed her eyes slightly and answered, "If you were any inconvenience to me, I wouldn't have offered my help. Trust me when I say that I wouldn't help you if I didn't want to, so please." her hand motioned for him to sit on a small sofa chair.

He reluctantly sat down in the chair but muttered, "Yeah right, what about the whole 'don't mention my friend to Mum' thing?"

Mali walked into an adjacent room and called out, "You overreacted like she would have had she seen you. She would have insisted to take you to a hospital if she saw the state you're in, and she doesn't take no for an answer, trust me I know. Besides she would definitely ask pressing questions as to why you're so beat up." She came back with a large kit.

"Well, whatever." he uttered in defeat.

She shook her head and took another look at him. His hair was caked with dirt, dried blood, and what seemed to be leaves, but she could tell that his hair was auburn. His complexion was lost to blood, mud and cuts as well. She sighed, "I won't be able to do anything until you're clean. You should bathe so I can clean you properly. Or at the very least, you should wash away all the muck that currently is covering you."

"What? Like actually bathe?" he was puzzled, his voice gave him away.

"Yes, I believe that's what I said. Now go, I'll find you a change of clothes and start the bath." she walked into the bathroom once again and turned on the water, turning it to just above lukewarm temperature. She walked back out and he stared at her strangely, exasperated she shooed him into the bathroom, "I'll be back in a moment, don't go anywhere. The towels are inside the cabinet. I hope the water is warm enough."

"Where else am I supposed to go?" he whispered under his breath walking into the room drudgingly. He looked around and plopped down next to the mirror on a nicely decorated stool, and started pulling his tattered shirt over his head. She ran out of the room once she saw that he was sitting down and ran downstairs to her older brother's room. Her shoes squeaked and echoed around the house. When she reached her destination, she knocked and whispered harshly and demanding, "Daniel! Are you there?"

She heard some scuffling and something getting knocked down before the door opened, revealing a boy a little taller than her with golden locks with bright blue eyes. "Mali? What's up?" he opened the door revealing a stack of books fallen on the ground. His room, like most rooms in the house, was impeccable. Save for the fallen books, the room was organized, from the neat made bed, to the shelves and the closet.

She shook her head and spoke quickly, "Nothing, but I need you to give me a full outfit of yours, one of the nice ones."

He looked around and opened his mouth to ask why, before that could happen, she interrupted him and said, "No time to explain, just please. Here," she rummaged through the pockets of her coat and handed him a handful bank notes, "I think there's 50 pounds there, come on!"

He took a deep breath and took only half the notes "Don't think you're getting away with not telling me why. I'll ask again later, and don't worry about it; I'll do it for half." He gave her a half smirk full of mischief and walked back into his room and opened his wardrobe. He pulled out socks, black jeans, a belt, and a green V-neck. She grabbed them from his hands and muttered, "Wow, such a generous offer..." then ran back upstairs. As she entered her room she realized that he had shut off the water. She knocked on the door and called out, "Hey, Rufio, it's me. I'm going to leave the clothes on top of the counter. You better be washing up!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's fine." he returned absent mindedly.

She opened the door and quickly placed the clothes on the counter and closed the door behind her. She went back to the chair and dragged a nightstand next to it, placing the items of the kit on it. She sat down on her bed as she pondered why she was being nice to Rufio, who was a stranger. It's not like Mali was known for being nice to just anyone, especially in recent months. She came to the conclusion that it was a nice change of pace, and as out of character as it seemed, she was glad that she was helping him. It wasn't hard to guess that Rufio had many injuries that were not attained with his brawl with Allan earlier. She took the chance that Rufio was in the bathroom and changed into something more comfortable. She went into her walk-in closet and shut the door behind her. Once there she pulled off her gloves and shirt, and pulled on a long sleeved navy shirt. She slipped out of her jeans and then pulled on some yoga pants and slippers. She walked out and sat on the bed waiting for Rufio to come out.

Speaking of which, he walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later, a smaller towel on top of his head, as though he was patting it dry. She gave him a tight lipped smile and motioned for him to sit down again. As he walked over to the seat, she a got a better look at him, now clean. His head was covered in a mop of a dark auburn shade of hair, and his eyes accented it well, as they were a deep green. There was a trace of dimples, but his eyes, although an alluring tone showed that he was in pain, not physical, but emotional. Rufio sat down on the chair reluctantly muttering under his breath. She sat next to him and disinfected all of the wounds with some alcohol, which earned her a hiss of discomfort. Mali murmured an apology and resumed cleaning them. He flinched every once in a while, but showed little to no pain throughout the rest of the time she spent bandaging him up.

Mali thought it was strange that he wasn't really reacting, but said nothing of it until she was finished. "You're all good, I think you should still get checked up, but that's up to you," She wiped her now bloody hands on a towel and then as she packed up the kit she heard his stomach rumble. "Listen, I'm sure you have to go home, but I can offer you some dinner, or something to eat."

He looked at her strangely, and joked, "Now, I'm sure you want to kidnap me. What is this, Hansel and Gretel?"

She smirked and said, "Surely, I'm better looking than an old hag."

He took in a hissing breath, "I don't know... maybe, but you sure look evil. Sure you won't offer me candy and then stick me in an oven?" He smirked in an awry manner.

"I wouldn't offer _you_ candy if I had a thousand pieces to spare! Although I'm seriously debating sticking you into an oven..." I chuckled and then pulled my hair back, "Come on, let's go."

"You're serious?" he asked perturbed.

"Yes, of course," she responded seriously, "Now let's go downstairs so you can meet everyone. I'm sure it will be very interesting. And I'm not taking no for an answer."

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**A/N**

**Second FanFic on here, if you're a fan of Naruto check out my other story. Hope you guys enjoy this one. Please review and tell me what you think, do you love it, hate it? Let me know! I answer to all reviews too.**

**Your Raven,**

**E. I. Lorelai**


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